Amazon Studios plans a major shift in the way it does
original series. The plan is to produce big scale, high-end drama series with
global appeal. Thatís a shift from making comedies and US centric projects. Some
projects that were in development are going to be scrapped. New projects include
a comedy starring Fred Armisen and Maya Rudolph and another Seth Rogen-produced
comic book adaptation that will go straight to series. One major project already
in development is Paul Attanasio and Wong Kar-waiís Tong Wars, a period drama
blending the history of Chinese immigration to the U.S. and a crime saga. Mad
Menís Matthew Weinerís The Romanoffs anthology series is a go but David O.
Russellís untitled crime drama starring Robert De Niro and Julianne Moore has
been scrapped. The Russell project is rumored to have spent $40 million without
shooting a single frame of film and only a few scripts having been turned in.